The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (Maggie O’Farrell)
(1 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)
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The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell drew me in, even when I wasn’t sure I wanted to be drawn. This is one of those books where scenes shift from one age to another like strands in a plait. Memories come in fragments, particularly in the case of Kitty, the elder of two sisters, whose mind may, or may not, be failing. But it’s younger sister Esme who has been institutionalized for over 60 years, whose remembrances finally fill in the story. Esme was the ultimate victim of an era when women who disobeyed or misbehaved could be locked away.
Iris Lockhart never knew her grandmother had a sister until she is notified that Cauldstone Hospital is closing. Legally responsible for her incapacitated grandmother Kathleen’s affairs, she is now Esme’s only recourse. Initially leery of dealing with an unknown and, possibly, crazy relative, Iris plans put Esme in some sort of caretaking facility. While she’s struggling with her own feelings, Esme is discovering important details of her past.
O’Farrell’s writing is compelling. One of my favorite passages concerns the family resemblance Esme sees in Iris: “We are all, Esme decides, just vessels through which identities pass: we are lent features, gestures, habits, then we hand them on. Nothing is our own. We begin in the world as anagrams of our antecedents.â€
I suffered with the injustices Esme suffered. Even in gaining her freedom, she could never recover what she had lost. I’m not good at reading between the lines and, reaching the end of the book, had to go back and re-read to make sure I knew what happened. As light-hearted reading, this book fails but as a good story it succeeds.